Hi everyone. My name is Ashley and I am a 31 year old mom of 2. I have never been what anyone would call thin, at 5'2", I'm not sure that's a possibility for me. But I have always favored the athletic, toned look anyway. By middle school I would say I was fully grown; I weighed about 130lbs and wore a size 7/9 in Juniors. I stayed that way through early adulthood; I was in the Army for 10 years and despite my first pregnancy, I stayed at a very fit 140lbs for almost my whole career. At the end of my time in the military, I got pregnant with my youngest son. For some reason I could never get my body back to the way it looked before I had him. I got close a few times, using Nutrisystem and other diets but inevitably I would get to a goal and go back to eating like I "wanted" to. I grew up with bad eating habits; we lived off of soda, potato chips, French fries, pizza, etc. Being in the Army, I was active enough that I could eat what I wanted without gaining anything. Now that I am out, and I'm nearing middle age, I am rapidly gaining. Since leaving the Army I've gained 20lbs. I am not someone who can be happy when I am heavy, I wish I were one of those people, but for some inexplicable reason my self-esteem is tied to my appearance and I am absolutely miserable. I can't seem to motivate myself, I feel tired and lazy all the time. Someone put a boot in my butt! And if you've been where I am, please give me some advice as to how you got out? Thank you for reading.

Hi FatMom, nice to see you here!
You're in good company, i guess we're all unhappy with our weight and can't eat as much as we have done to get this way. I don't really have any advice on how to kick-start yourself. I've tried for the last couple of years, but only succeeded a few weeks ago, and at long last actually motivated myself to be serious and prioritise my diet. The getting started is really hard. I'm in the 'easy' bit right now, which is following the plan!
Maybe my advice is you don't have to do everything all at once. If you're feeling lazy, allow yourself to be lazy for a bit and just tackle the food side. You don't have to go full-on exercise and full-on diet all at the same time. Once you lose some, and start feeling good, you'll naturally want to get back in to your fitness, especially if you've enjoyed it before.
Good luck with the journey and finding your ignition button!

Hi Ange, and thank you for your reply! I am slowly trying to mentally prepare myself for the change I need to make. I decided to sign up for a gym yesterday, and try some workout classes. I've always worked out on my own in the past, which I enjoyed after the forced workouts we did in the Army. But I think I need to be pushed, and a group class may be better for that. I'm going to start with that and hope the nutrition part follows; no one wants to workout for an hour and then ruin it with an unhealthy meal! Congrats on your progress, and I look forward to chatting with all of you